5 Steps to Mastering the LSAT Logical Reasoning

5 Steps to Mastering the LSAT Logical Reasoning LSAT Law School Blog There are three basic parts to the LSAT Logical Reasoning question: argument question (what the test writers want you to figure out about the argument) answer choices Mastering the LSAT Logical Reasoning questions requires becoming comfortable with each of the three parts of the Logical Reasoning question. The best way to do this is to break up the question and address each part separately. 1. Read the question. Starting with the question helps you get in the right frame of mind for what you will need to do answer this question. It helps to focus on what you should be focusing on when reading the argument. Note: Does the question have the word “EXCEPT” in it? Don’t forget that! Underline, highlight, or circle it. Do whatever works best for you to draw your attention back to this word after you are done reading the argument. It is a common mistake to miss questions with “EXCEPT.” Students get tunnel vision when reading the argument and forget that the question wants them to find the answer that does not fit with the argument. So, reminding yourself of what you are really being asked to do will help you avoid making this mistake and help you get valuable points. 2. Read the argument. Read the argument carefully. Underline or highlight key words. Pay special attention to anything related to the question. For example, did the question ask about the conclusion? If so, pay extra attention to what the conclusion of the argument is. 3. Put the argument in your own words. What is the writer really trying to say? Put in plain English. Write a 1-2 line summary for yourself next to the question. This way you have a quick reference that makes sense to you, and you do not have to waste time rereading the argument. Also, the majority of questions focus on the conclusion or main point, so having a good handle on this part of the argument will always benefit you. 4. Put the answer the question in your own words. Before looking at the answer choices, answer the question yourself. A lot of the answer choices are lengthy or complicated. Putting the answer in your own words first helps you stay on the right track and not get confused. It can be difficult to put answers in your own words at first, especially for questions that ask you to weaken or strengthen the argument. The temptation is to think: “How could I possibly come up with everything that could weaken/strengthen this argument?” But don’t get overwhelmed. The point is not to come up with every possible answer. The point is to just get you thinking about the right things, so all you need to do is come up with one plausible answer. 5. Find the answer choice closest to your own answer. It is unlikely that your exact answer is in the choices, but chances are, something similar is. Use your own answer to help eliminate answer choices and help you select the right answer. The key to the LSAT Logical Reasoning questions is PRACTICE! The more you do, the more comfortable you will become with these questions. If possible, designate some time on a regular basis to do practice problems. It is better to do 5-10 problems every day than 50 problems in one sitting once a week. Your brain needs time to process what it is learning. You will get more out of your studying if you practice in small amounts on a regular basis than if you have cram sessions on weekends. Jayeeta is a private LSAT tutor in Chicago and Boston. She holds a JD from the University of Chicago, a M.S. from MIT, and degrees in Physics and Economics from Reed College. She’s worked with several major test prep companies in addition to MyGuru and has been providing private LSAT tutoring for several years. hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(215486, '6baac2ae-05a3-4610-9d1f-265c8cbd809f', {});

What To Look For In a GRE Prep Course

What To Look For In a GRE Prep Course GRE/MAT Graduate School Blog If you’re planning to take the GRE, chances are that you aren’t treating it as a casual endeavor, but that you are planning to put a lot into it and get a lot out. After all, a graduate education requires a huge investment and, hopefully, provides a huge return. So it should be safe to say that you are making a committed effort to prepare. But with all of the material that is considered essential to an undergraduate education, and the volumes more that is considered specialized, it can be easy to get lost without a roadmap. This is where a GRE prep course comes into play, which requires a decision about which one to use. For that decision, here are five characteristics you should consider: 1. Comprehensive The course you select should be comprehensive, which means it should thoroughly cover all three sections of the GRE (Verbal, Quantitative, and Writing), and have a more or less exhaustive inventory of the topics and information covered by each. A perfect score on the GRE is actually possible, but only if you cover all your bases thoroughly and review diligently. 2. Concise Conciseness is also a virtue, because as much information as there is on the GRE, there is even more that isn’t, and you don’t want to distract yourself with irrelevant information. The course you select should be streamlined and follow as closely as possible the actual format and content of the GRE. 3. Convenient Convenience is an important factor to consider, because with the necessity of preparing for the GRE while still managing the demands of your regular studies, you will want to remove any possible barriers to your GRE prep work. Online courses are great, as long as they satisfy the other considerations, because not only do they not add to your weight load (as long as you already have a laptop or mobile device with you), they are also convenient to access when you have short intervals of downtime throughout the day. 4. Comprehensible The course you select should be easy to read, easy to understand, and easy for you to learn from. You should feel like you are making steady progress in your GRE prep, not struggling to understand the material, which should mostly be review for you anyway. 5. Plenty of Practice Exams The best preparation is practice, and the course you select should provide you with plenty of opportunity in the form of a variety of practice exams. The more of these you can do the better, and the best way to use them is to take them under actual testing conditions, i.e. in a straight stretch of time with no outside references. This will not only reveal where you need to focus your studies, it will also get you accustomed to the testing circumstances, so they will no longer be stressful to you, and your performance should continually improve as you go along. hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(215486, '6baac2ae-05a3-4610-9d1f-265c8cbd809f', {});